Missouri hiker lost for days in Interior Alaska lived off the land

FAIRBANKS — A hiker and his dog ate berries and moss while they were lost for days in Alaska, he said.

Logan Holmer, 26, of Missouri, and his dog started hiking the Far Mountain Trail May 7 and became separated from their group the next day, The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported Monday.

Holmer brought two days' worth of food and ate the last of it on the fourth day, supplementing his diet with the plants he found, he said in a social media post quoted by the newspaper.

"I was laying in a huge bed of these plants and I pulled up a huge salad and broke them up with my hands and choked them down with the water I had stocked up for the evening," Holmer said. "Almost instantly I was feeling warmer and was able to get some sleep."

More than 40 rescuers from Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Wilderness Search and Rescue, Civil Air Patrol, Alaska State Park Rangers, and PAWS search dog teams participated in the search that located Holmer and his retired sled dog on May 11.

Holmer carried a compass, but no map or GPS device. After Holmer was separated from his group, the other three members also went off course despite using GPS.

Holmer wandered more than 30 miles in ridgeline distance from the Chena Hot Springs Resort 61 miles east of Fairbanks, officials said.